Cristiano Ronaldo: “I want to stay at United for years”

Portuguese superstar keen to repay debt to Ferguson

Cristiano Ronaldo has again reaffirmed his desire to stay with Premiership champions Manchester United for the foreseeable future.

The Portuguese is currently partaking in his fifth season at Old Trafford, having made great progress in England since his 2003 switch from Sporting, and Ronaldo is keen to pay tribute to manager Alex Ferguson for his development.

“He (Sir Alex) is a great man, because he was won everything at this club,” he said. “And he is a coach who I appreciate a lot because he has always helped me whenever I have needed it, and thanks to him I am now a much better player.”

Having long expressed a fondness for the Spain and a desire to one day play in La Liga, Ronaldo also appears to have undergone a change of mind with regard to his future plans.

Asked about his feelings about champions Real Madrid and Spanish football, the 22-year-old insist he has no desire to leave United and the league he believes is currently the best in the world.

“Premiership strongest league”

“Real Madrid are a great club, everybody knows that. But I insist that I am very happy at Manchester United and I want to continue here for many years,” he said. “I think that the English league since last season is the strongest, above the Italian and Spanish.”

“In England all the stadiums are full and any smaller team can now win against the big teams. As well as that, play is not stopped so many times, it is very fast, intense and aggressive, and the players are stronger.

“The Spanish league is also a very good league. I like it very much and I have a lot of interest in it, but I think that right now the English league is better.”

On his side’s potential for the season, Ronaldo added: “I think that Manchester United have a great chance. We are very strong in the Premier League and in the Champions League.

“But Arsenal will be a big rival because they are playing good football, also Chelsea, Barcelona, Milan, Real Madrid....It will be fundamental to see how these teams are when the quarter-finals and semi-finals come around.”